    | |
Production sites
Production
sites
Shin-Etsu is operating two plants located in Europe’s largest port. The port of Rotterdam is a chemical hub providing a reliable infrastructure for key raw materials and at the same an excellent logistics hub for supplying the European market.
| Botlek VCM plant
Our site at Botlek produces ethylene dichloride (EDC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). The raw materials chlorine and ethylene are supplied by pipeline. The Botlek plant is a continuous recycling loop of two separate processes to produce EDC and VCM. After direct chlorination the remaining Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is recycled in the oxychlorination process. We are part of the local chlorine cluster in which Shin-Etsu absorbs HCl by pipeline from neighbouring chemical producers so the system stays in balance.
|
The plant has direct access to the port of Botlek and is equipped to receive raw materials directly from ship. The same port is also used to deliver VCM to our PVC plant in Portugal (Cires). With its capacity of 620kt, the Botlek site is the largest VCM plant in Europe.
| Pernis PVC plant
Our site at Pernis produces poly vinyl chloride (PVC) and is Europe’s 2nd largest PVC plant. Supply of VCM from our Botlek site goes through a pipeline over a distance of approximately 10 km.
|
In a continuous batch process, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is polymerized by suspension technology. The polymerization takes place within small VCM droplets in water (suspension) stirred at high speed in large reactors. The high degree of process control and reactor design enables us to produce very consistent batches of PVC.
The plant has six production lines and these are equipped with several online quality controls to ensure the high quality of our products. We have a clear focus on producing four types of PVC to serve the main markets in which our customers are operating. Our excellent location in Rotterdam makes it possible to supply all corners of the European market. |
|
Both plants have responsible operations, in line with the certified management systems ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45000. Moreover, we comply with the internal ESG principles laid out by Shin-Etsu Chemical, which are explained further in detail on our sustainability page.
| |